Connection
by Purple Eyed Cat
Summary: Oneshot. Takes place after TLC. Holly and Artemis share an unspoken connection, made stronger by an impromptu phone call. Slightest Artemis x Holly.


**A/N: Welcome to my first Artemis Fowl fanfic and a one-shot, Connection. This takes place after The Lost Colony, and I always wondered, at the end, how Artemis reacted to being three years younger than he was supposed to be. Since he and Holly were the only ones besides the demons that were trapped in the time tunnel, I figured that he would feel closer to Holly than before. I tried to do the characters justice, but if I didn't, I'm sorry. This is my first try at Artemis Fowl, and I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Summary: Takes place after TLC. Holly and Artemis share an unspoken connection, made stronger by a phone call. Slightest Artemis x Holly, if you look really hard. **

**Disclaimer: All of it belongs to Eoin Colfer. I just like to play with it. **

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Connection

**Dublin, Ireland**

**Fowl Manor**

**Present Day**

A young man of about fourteen stood in one of the many spacious bathrooms in Fowl Manor, staring at his reflection. He was dressed in a bathrobe—expensive from the looks of it—and wore a puzzled expression on his face.

Now, Artemis Fowl the Second was never one to stand in front of a mirror for any longer than the prescribed time it took to get ready for the day. (Which was only three minutes and forty three seconds—he had timed himself as a child once.) Nor was the great Artemis Fowl one to be puzzled. More often than not, his expression was one of craftiness, of intense thought, but never of puzzlement. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been puzzled.

And yet, as he stood here staring at his reflection, he was puzzled by what he saw. Most of his features had not changed, but once again, Artemis Fowl felt changed, and he couldn't describe how he felt, yet another unheard of thing, to his powerful mind. The raven-black hair was still there, the pale skin and vampire smile was still there, and the only thing that had changed in his outward appearance was that instead of two blue eyes, his face now held one blue and one hazel, given to him by the elfin captain of the LEP.

Just thinking of Holly made Artemis rub his forehead and sigh. Confusion was never something he felt; he was more used to making others around him feel confused. Yet, here he was, feeling confused over something that should be so simple.

He had emerged from a time-tunnel just yesterday, only to find that three years had gone by. He was fourteen, while he should be almost eighteen. It felt strange, he mused, staring at his mismatched eyes, not to be your proper age. He was an older brother to twins, a younger brother and sister. His parents were overjoyed to find him alive, and while Artemis was glad to see them too, in a way, he felt even more distant from them than before.

Minerva was staying with them too, and Artemis didn't know how to act around the now-fifteen year old. She had developed into a intelligent young lady, as well as beautiful, and Artemis, still having little experience was girls, was tongue-tied around her, yet another emotion he wasn't used to feeling.

_Blasted puberty,_ he thought, massaging his forehead again. All this confusion was giving him a headache. Changing into a suit, Artemis wandered into his study, sitting down in his chair and ignoring the computer that flickered on at his approach. Artemis sat there, staring into space, hands palm to palm as he thought, until the glimmer of something on the desk caught his eye.

It was the ring phone that Holly had given him. It glinted in the computer light, and Artemis picked it up, his mismatched eyes deep in thought, before slipping it on his finger. Pressing a button, he held his hand up to his face, hearing it ring.

It rang several times before Artemis heard Holly's familiar voice on the other end. "Hello?"

"Captain Short," Artemis said in way of greeting, wondering if this sudden impulse to call the fairy was a bad idea.

"Artemis!" Holly's warm voice came over the other end, sounding happy to see him. "How are you?"

"Surviving," the young genius replied, his eyes roaming the study. "Captain—I mean—Holly, is it the same…" the young man trailed off, feeling nervous and unable to phrase the question he wanted answered so desperately.

Holly seemed to sense what he wanted to say. "It's strange, isn't it, Artemis?" She asked, her voice soft, and the genius on the other end of the line relaxed.

She understood.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, "it is hard to comprehend that three years have been taken from me. I've tried to think of a way, any way, to get back those three years, but all my sources have failed me." He sounded, for once, like a young man of fourteen.

"But you still feel out of place," Holly murmured on her end, and Artemis nodded, knowing that she understood. "Down in Haven," she continued, "Mulch is getting along fine was Doodah, both of them being convicts, and Foaly and Caballine are getting serious." Her voice took on lighter note as she told him, "I think Foaly's thinking about marrying her."

"Indeed?" Artemis asked, a smile breaking over his face as he imagined Foaly, surrounded by little centaurs all wearing foil hats and hacking into the LEP database. An amusing thought indeed.

He was so caught up in thinking that he almost missed Holly's next words. "Vinyaya no longer needs Section 8, since she is now commander of the LEP, and I've been reinstated as Captain." There was a note of pride in her voice, and Artemis knew that she was back where she had always wanted to be.

"It's strange," Holly continued, sensing that there was something else behind Artemis' silence, "to be back at the LEP, and to know that three years have passed. Even as captain, I still feel out of place."

"It is a strange feeling," Artemis agreed, grateful there was at least one person that understood how he felt, "one that I hope will vanish in time as we learn to adapt to the changes."

He could have said more, but what he could have said, not even the young genius knew, for at that moment, he heard his mother's voice at the bottom of the stairs.

"Arty! Arty! Are you dressed yet? Come and meet your new siblings, dear!"

Artemis opened his mouth to bid Holly good-bye, but she must have heard it as well. "You have to go?" There was a note of sadness to her voice, and Artemis wondered what had put it there.

"Regretfully, I am being called away captain," he said, his genius mask once again in place, no longer ready to openly share his emotions as he just had. "My mother needs my attention."

He heard her sigh over the phone, and he could hear her nod. "Okay, Artemis, I'll let you go." There was a click, and then nothing.

Sighing, Artemis Fowl stood up and strode out of his study. He had changed for the second time, but at least now, there was one person had experienced the same change he had, and knew how it felt.

Artemis Fowl the Second walked downstairs to rejoin his family and begin plotting his next scheme.

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**A/N: So...good, bad, needs to be deleted? Yeah, I know, the ending is a little corny, but my muse was running low at that second. Tell me what you thought by reviewing, and please, no flames!**


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